Savile Row's tailors prepare to do battle with Abercrombie & Fitch

Tailors of London's Savile Row argue that the arrival of Abercrombie & Fitch's planned kid's store will damage the integrity of the street, making it a less desirable destination for their affluent customers.

Last week the American chain - which already has a large men's and women's wear store on the neighbouring Burlington Gardens - was told by Westminster Council that they would not be allowed to fete the opening of the new kids' store at No 3 Savile Row with a celebrity-filled opening party. Similarly, they would not be allowed to play music that could be heard on the street, nor would buggies and prams belonging customers be allowed to park on the outside pavement. Abercrombie & Fitch have appealed against the measures, which were applied to appease the Row's unhappy tailors, and the decision will now be made at a public planning inquiry.

Now, Mark Henderson, the chairman of heritage tailors Gieves & Hawkes and of the professional non-profit organisation Savile Row Bespoke, has spoken on behalf of the famous street's many tailors to further detail their issues with the planned store.

"Savile Row is a terribly famous address, associated with the world's best tailoring," he told the
Evening Standard
. "Putting in a children's store to sell jeans and T-shirts seriously damages the integrity of the street. The other aspect to this is it's a narrow, quiet street and the Abercrombie model is to pile it high and get large quantities of customers in - crowds of people inside, crowds of people outside. That means a lot more people on the street. That makes it less pleasant for our customers, whom we have built up over 200 years, to come to Savile Row."

Henderson also stated that he believes Abercrombie & Fitch have "misread the economic benefit" of positioning a kids store on the street, stating that areas of larger footfall, such as Regent Street and Covent Garden, would be far more suitable.

Abercrombie & Fitch are yet to comment on the situation.

The Savile Row battle comes shortly after the Amercan retailer reported 52 percent fall in second-quarter earnings with a 26 percent comparable-store sales drop in its international stores, which has subsequently led to the closure of US stores and a scaling back of planned international expansion.